Cessna 182Q N422G

Summary

On 21 April 2007 at about 03:13 local time, a Cessna 182Q registered N422G, operated by Mark A Chase, was involved in an accident near Cudjoe Key, Florida, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 April 2007 at 03:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Cudjoe Key, Florida, United States

Coordinates

24.6969, -81.4983

Aircraft

Cessna 182Q

Registration

N422G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mark A Chase

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Key West → Leesburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

MIA07FA083

3 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from an active restricted area, which resulted in the airplane colliding with the tether of an aerostat.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight departed Key West, Florida, for Leesburg, Florida, under night, visual meteorological conditions. As the pilot established radio contact with air traffic control (ATC), the airplane entered restricted area R-2916 without clearance, where a Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) was on station. ATC attempted to inform the pilot that R-2916 was active. The airplane collided with the aerostat tether at 4,533 feet. According to information obtained from Naval Air Station Key West, the accident airplane departed from Key West international Airport on runway 27, then turned to an easterly heading, and was last seen on radar as it merged with the aerostat. At the time of the accident the airplane had been in radio communications contact with Federal Aviation Administration Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC), and according to an official at the Miami ARTCC, the pilot had been informed of the restricted area at Cudjoe Key. A video record from the camera mounted on the TARS flight control building, which monitors the aerostat while aloft, showed the aerostat's position lights operating, and at 2312:55, the video record showed the position lights of the accident airplane as it approached the tether. The video record showed the airplane striking the tether, entering a spin, and descending uncontrolled. Witnesses reported that the airplane collided with the tether, a wing separated, and the airplane tumbled into the water. According to the flight director's log, the log entry directly preceding the accident showed no irregularities. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.